Dawn breaks after a steady, night-long rain. As rose-hued clouds lift from horizon, the sun emerges in a clear azure sky. Mountain hillsides glisten, lush with emerald green foliage.
Across the sparkling lake, fluffy cloud bank blankets the summit of Mount Garcia. Birds twitter happily in the garden, while resident hummers buzz in for breakfast at the feeder hanging from my terrace roof. Gulping in the sweet fresh air, I contentedly plunge into a new day in paradise.
Buried deep in memory are less delightful mornings. Like the native folks and other old-timers here, I’ve become so spoiled by perpetually fine weather that even minor temperature fluctuations tend to prompt complaint. When an unseasonal spell of cold and rain hit us back in early March, I slogged about constantly grumbling, “Bah! So much for the so-called World’s Best Climate”
Where did that hackneyed real estate pitch line come from anyway? According to conventional wisdom, National Geographic put Chapala on the map back in the 1960’s naming it as second only to Nairobi, Kenya among “perfect climate” locations.
Well, I’ve Googled the topic every which way and back, to no avail. Until somebody actually comes up with a copy of the alleged magazine report, I’ll chalk it up as just another urban myth.
Lakesiders aren’t the only ones who accept the claims as gospel.
“Imagine if you could design your ideal climate. What would it be like? For me, it would be like this: Partly cloudy and mid-70’s °F (low 20’s °C) nearly every day of the year. Beautiful blue skies. The warmest days accompanied by a nice breeze. Cool evenings, but never cold. Very little humidity. And just when things get a little too dry, a rainy season begins.”
Sounds familiar, no? Turns out those are the words a Nairobi expat settler who goes on to cite the dated NatGeo rating in her cleverly titled “Kenya Feel it?” blog.
If you search the net for current best climate ratings, you may be surprised to learn that Nairobi is conspicuously absent from the number one spot … and Chapala doesn’t even make a blip.
Consider the most authoritative source on the matter: “Pleasant Weather Ratings,” a 1996 traveler’s guide by Thomas Whitmore based on findings of a University of Syracuse study on year-round weather conditions for 600 cities worldwide.
Analysis of research data affords overall top ranking status to Las Palmas, Canary Islands, with a perfect score of 100. San Diego, California scores 95 for the second slot. Casablanca, Port Elizabeth, Oceanside, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles follow in the 94-93 point range.
Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende both score a close 92, nudging out Nairobi at 91. At 85, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta place at the cut-off line between the “excellent” and “very good” weather categories. Nearby Guadalajara earns 84 points – attributed to high temperatures between March and June — to stand at 43 out of the 600 slots.
Say, what? In the early 1970’s I spent a full year in Mexico City and one very uncomfortable winter in San Miguel. Mazatlán and PV swelter in the summer. I don’t give a hoot what some New York nerds say. The climate in these parts is better by a long shot.
In the long run, it doesn’t really matter where the Chapala area ranks on the climate scale. We may live with lower lows, higher highs, more rainy days and fewer ones bathed in sunshine than the Canary Islands and 40-odd other places on earth. There are other geographic and natural factors, along with the more important human climate, that make it an idyllic place to live life to the max.